Rapid Reaction: Union 3, Revolution 1

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Sebastien Le Toux scored on each side of halftime to hand the New England Revolution a 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

Le Toux's first strike came in the 42nd minute when he pounced on a shaky Jose Goncalves back pass and slotted it through. He added his second in the 77th minute after collecting an Andrew Wenger pass and firing it inside the far post. Le Toux's goals sandwiched a 69th-minute goal from Danny Cruz, who blasted a shot past Brad Knighton from the edge of the box.

The Revolution's lone goal came from second-half substitute Saer Sene, who came on in the 70th minute and scored in the 73rd minute after tapping through a Kelyn Rowe cross.

The defeat sent the Revolution to their third straight loss in league play, while the Union extended their unbeaten run in MLS action to three (2-0-1).

What it means: The concerns circling the Revolution leading up to the World Cup break returned with a vengeance Saturday. The local XI looked rusty early, and they paid the price for their sloppiness going into halftime. Goncalves' poor back pass in the 42nd minute essentially invited Le Toux to score, while Cruz was given plenty of room to fire away on his 69th-minute goal. Sene's 70th-minute goal gave the hosts some hope, but only briefly as Le Toux netted his second on a perfectly placed shot. With the schedule about to send the Revolution into a 26-day span with seven games, the pressure is on the coaching staff and players to fix the defense and sharpen the passing quickly.

Stat of the match: The Union backline, which opened the floodgates for five goals in their most recent meeting against the Revolution on May 17, stood stout on Saturday by sending away 43 clearances.

Knighton gets start: Revolution coach Jay Heaps opted to go with backup keeper Brad Knighton, who made his second start of the season on Saturday. Incidentally, Knighton made his season debut in a May 17 contest against the Union, which the Revolution won 5-3.

See you again soon: Saturday's match might have marked the series finale between the Revolution and Union, but they'll meet again before long. The sides are set for a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal clash on July 8 at PPL Park. The contest will be the first time the conference foes will meet in Open Cup competition.

Westward bound: The Revolution will head to Rio Tinto Stadium on Friday to face Real Salt Lake at 10 p.m. EST. The Fourth of July clash will mark the only time the teams will face off this season, thanks to the unbalanced schedule. Last year, the Revolution dropped a 2-1 loss to Salt Lake on May 8 at Gillette Stadium.

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New England Revolution

The New England Revolution are one of the 10 original MLS teams that began play in 1996. In their history, the Revolution have reached the MLS Cup finals four times (2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007) but have yet to win. For more information on the Revs, check out their official website or follow them on Twitter here.